Harold's Leaving

Red has to face the prospect of running the show without Harold when he announces that he is going to college.

Cast (in order of appearance):, , , , , ,

DVD: The Red Green Show – 1998 Season

Watch the episode on YouTube

Segment Summary
See also: Transcript

Plot: Harold announces that he is going to college. Red has his doubts about the whole thing. Before leaving and amid gathering his necessities for college, Harold ends up trying to teach Red how to run the show once he leaves, including how to operate his switcher. In the end, Red ends up trying to work around his schedule, but is reluctant to admit that Harold is needed. Red learns that Harold was not accepted after all, and then whispers in his ear that he pays him ten dollars a day to work on the show. Harold is so overcome with emotion that, at the lodge meeting, he breaks his promise not to explain his salary.

Opening Scene: Red uses a bird feeder to show how to prevent birds from hitting your window.

The Possum Lodge Word Game: Dalton tries to guess the word "charity" to win "ketchups of the world".

Red's Campfire Songs: Wrinkled dogs.

Handyman Corner: Red builds a fishing boat out of heating ducts.

Midlife: How to foil your wife's urge to make you over.

New Member Night: Winston brings in a new member, Mitchell Thick, who owns a manure spreading service and a bass boat that will hold eight guys.

Adventures With Bill: Bill tries to retrieve a kite stuck in a tree.

The Experts: Ranger Gord explains how getting struck by lightning affects one's personality.

Trivia

 * Beginning with this episode, the show's name was reverted back to The Red Green Show (which was not used since The Water Show), retaining this title for the rest of the show's run.

Inside References

 * Red previously tried to get Dalton to say "Charity" as part of the Word Game in 30 Minutes or Free. In both instances, Red begins by mentioning that the word used "begins at home." In the earlier episode, Dalton answers "arguments"; this time, he answers "bad mood".

Real-World References

 * Viagra is a pharmaceutical targeted at older men, designed to treat erectile dysfunction. Its marketing includes strong implications of an improved sex life.
 * UNICEF and The Salvation Army are both well-known charities that provide anonymous donation boxes in common places, such as grocery stores.
 * The exchange in which Harold demands the truth from Red is a parody of a similar scene in the film A Few Good Men.

Fast Forward

 * Red will once again have to figure out how to run his show without Harold, when Harold gets a job in the city at the start of the next season.
 * In Hurricane Doug, while visiting Harold at the office, Red mentions to him the boat he had made out of heating ducts.